# Mold



## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

Some of you may recall I bought some cigars last summer for my daughter’s wedding this summer. I took the caps off the tubes, put them in a Sistema with a 65% Boveda, and stuck them in a corner in the basement where the temperature is relatively cool and stable. I checked my smart hygrometer app periodically and was content with the readings so I didn’t do much with them. Last night I decided to replace the Boveda and happened to slide a few sticks out of the tubes and was surprised and disappointed to find that 2 of the first 3 I looked at had mold on them. After looking at all 50 of them I found that 5 had mold. Not awful, but not what I expected either.

Reviewing the hygrometer logs, temps have been in the upper 60’s and humidity in the low 60’s. I thought those conditions were sufficient for avoiding mold, but I guess not.

So now what? Fifty cigars was way more than I needed, so do I just toss those 5 and move on? Wipe them off and put them back in the Sistema? Should I worry that the rest will develop mold? Is my storage setup bad, and if so, what should change? Or could it just be that those 5 were moldy when I got them and I didn’t notice?


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## Humphrey's Ghost (Dec 27, 2016)

Wipe them off and move on
Check them from time to time
There is nothing wrong with your set up
CCs just do that sometimes
I had some RYJ Churchills that did the same thing, I wiped them off and put them back and it never came back
You can throw out the ones where it’s on the foot
Edit: I will add that you should remove the cedar sleeves from the ones that had mold

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## Bipolar (Jun 23, 2021)

Wipe em and smoke em. Good advice from Humphrey's Ghost on removing the cedar sleeves on the moldy ones. I never would have thought of that.


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

It’s Cuban Penicillin. As everyone has suggested, just wipe it off. No worries.


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

Thanks for the input. I thought this would be the answer but it’s good to get reassurance.


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## DSturg369 (Apr 6, 2008)

Agree... Wipe 'em off and smoke 'em. Then keep an eye on everything else. That's all any of us can do.


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## Rondo (Sep 9, 2015)

Alcohol wipe them. 
Air doesn’t circulate well, even with an open tube.


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## Mich_smoker (Feb 6, 2019)

Rondo said:


> Alcohol wipe them.
> Air doesn’t circulate well, even with an open tube.



Do you use ISO or something along the lines of everclear to be "food safe"?


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## Rondo (Sep 9, 2015)

I use the individual wipes that I bring home from work. 
Cheap gin on a paper towel would be fine too.


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## zcziggy (Apr 11, 2019)

wait...what if it's plume?


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

Rondo said:


> I use the individual wipes that I bring home from work.
> Cheap gin on a paper towel would be fine too.


Ron, you just don’t seem like a cheap gin kind of guy…


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

bpegler said:


> Ron, you just don’t seem like a cheap gin kind of guy…
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That’s why he uses rubbing alcohol!


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

If you order a box of tubos and NONE are moldy, then that'd be news.. lol

If you have an issue with smoking a penicillin infused cigar ,my address is in my bio. I'll send picks of me smokin em so you'll feel better next time . I'm a helper, that's what I do.. lol

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## Sun Grown Pilon (Sep 29, 2020)

Take your finger tip -- not your fingernail -- and see if it brushes off easily. Do it over a piece of dark paper if you can. If it's plume/bloom then it will be like finely ground salt, brush off easily, and have a similar texture. For those with a salt water aquarium it will be very similar to the mineral crystallization you would see on the parts of the tank outside, but close to, the tank's water.

Read and video here to help: How can you tell the difference between Bloom (Plume) and Mold?
Note that while color can be a good indicator it's not 100% accurate as mold can be white and, apparently, bloom can be in other colors besides white. Confusing for sure. So, to me, it seems that texture is the best way to determine what it is.

I did a search on this as well here. One thing I recommend is reading with a critical mind. Some of the results from 'experts' claim there is no such thing as bloom. Some give confusing descriptions. Remember, bloom is a crystallization and granular texture whereas mold is a squishy, giving texture.

Please let us know what you discover


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## Humphrey's Ghost (Dec 27, 2016)

Sun Grown Pilon said:


> Take your finger tip -- not your fingernail -- and see if it brushes off easily. Do it over a piece of dark paper if you can. If it's plume/bloom then it will be like finely ground salt, brush off easily, and have a similar texture. For those with a salt water aquarium it will be very similar to the mineral crystallization you would see on the parts of the tank outside, but close to, the tank's water.
> 
> Read and video here to help: How can you tell the difference between Bloom (Plume) and Mold?
> Note that while color can be a good indicator it's not 100% accurate as mold can be white and, apparently, bloom can be in other colors besides white. Confusing for sure. So, to me, it seems that texture is the best way to determine what it is.
> ...


I’m not sure where this post is coming from
Lex was asking if his cigars were OK with the mold on them or if he should throw them out and he received multiple correct responses
Other than a joke from Zig, this was not a discussion about mold versus plume and there are hundreds of existing threads on that topic already
Your post doesn’t apply to the original question or any of the discussion
Your advise to smoke them at his own risk is not accurate or helpful and has been deleted


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## scott1256ca (Jan 4, 2017)

I thought the rule of thumb was
If it looks like mold, it's mold.
OTOH, If it looks like plume, it's mold. 

Couple of years ago I got a box of edmundo with mold on them. Wiped off and it never came back.


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